BRUSSELS, April 19 -- The European Union (EU) was"deeply chagrined by the tragic developments in the Mediterranean today, but also over the past days and weeks", said the European Commission in a statement on Sunday.

The European Commission said it was currently consulting with member states, European agencies and international organizations in order to prepare a new European Migration Strategy, which would be adopted by the Commission in mid-May.

"What we need is immediate actions to prevent further loss of life as well as a comprehensive approach to managing migration better in all its aspects," the Commission urged in the statement.

The High Representative and Vice-president Federica Mogherini of the European Union External Action (EEAS) also urged in a statement that "now is time for the European Union as such to tackle these tragedies without delay", adding that "we need to save human lives all together, as all together we need to protect our borders and to fight the trafficking of human beings."

Mogherini also said in the statement that the issue of migration was put as a formal point on the agenda of the Foreign Affairs Council on Monday in Luxemburg, where she would present a set of proposals for Libya, one of the main routes of illegal trafficking of migrants.

Nearly 700 migrants are feared to have died at sea when a packed boat capsized in international waters south of Italy's Sicily on Saturday night, Italian media said on Sunday.

If confirmed, the accident would mean at least 1,500 migrants have died so far this year, making 2015 far deadlier than 2014. It comes just days after 400 others drowned last week in a similar incident.

At least 218,000 migrants tried to cross the Mediterranean Sea last year to enter the EU from its southern borders, and some 3,500 of them lost their lives in the attempt, the Refugee Agency of the United Nations (UNHCR) said in a recent statement, adding that the trend is "expected to continue."